Life Changing Events
by lgfan452
Summary: Yes, another continuation of Season 5, but that's what we all want isn't it. Chapter 11 is up. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Life Changing Events

Lorelai walked out of her parent's house and slammed the door. Suddenly everything was quiet but her mind was racing. She stood perfectly still in the entryway to her parents home and tried to form coherent thoughts in her head. What had her Dad said, that Rory was going to live with them, in the pool house of all places. And that he would get her a job, a job. She didn't want Rory to have a job.

She, herself, had had a job for most of her life, it was just now that she and Sookie had bought the Dragonfly, that she felt like she had more than a job, she had her own business. She was a success now, but look how long it had taken her and look at what she had missed. She sighed deeply. She didn't want Rory to have a job, Rory was supposed to have a career. Rory was supposed to set the world on fire. She was supposed to have everything, everything, every opportunity that she herself had not had. Rory was supposed to have more.

She started to walk to her car, trying to think of a plan. What could she do, how could she convince Rory to go back to school, any school, it didn't have to be Yale, but as long as she was going to school, she still had a chance, a chance for more, a chance for everything.

Suddenly she stopped and looked around. That was Rory's car. She was here. She must be in the pool house. Lorelai turned and headed around the back of the house. Maybe if she could just talk to her one more time, she could convince her that what that asshole, Mitchum Huntzburger, had told her was wrong. Her body went rigid and a sound escaped her mouth that anyone within hearing distance would have described as a growl. Just thinking about him made her skin crawl. She shook her head in an effort to erase him from her mind. Fuming about what he had done to her daughter would do her no good right now. She needed to concentrate on Rory and getting her back to school.

She walked around the pool and saw Rory through the window. She was unpacking her belongings, making this place her own. Lorelai stopped and watched for a minute, wondering what she could say to her to make her change her mind, but she couldn't think of anything. All she could think of, as she watched her putting her books in the bookshelf, was how much she loved her, and how much she wanted for her, and how they had worked together for so long to achieve their goal. When had all that stopped? When had they stopped working together? Why was Rory so willing to believe that she couldn't do it?

She thought back to Rory's childhood. Was there something that she could have done differently? Something she should have taught Rory? Probably, but she didn't know what it was now. Rory was always so smart. Things came easy to her. School was easy, until she went to Chilton that is and she was behind. Headmaster Charleston had told her she might fail, but she wouldn't accept that. She worked hard and she was class valedictorian at her graduation, for God's sake. How does a Class Valedictorian just give up after one negative review?

Just then Rory turned and looked outside, and just for a minute they stared into each others eyes, and then Rory turned away and continued unpacking. Lorelai stood still for another minute, wondering what she had just seen in her daughter's eyes. She had seen love briefly but then it had changed to something else. What was it? Slowly Lorelai tore her eyes away from her daughter and turned to leave. Whatever it was that she had seen in Rory's eyes, there was something forbidding in it. Something that told her she was not welcome.

As she drove back to Stars Hollow, tears ran steadily down her face and every once in a while she reached up and wiped them away as if in an act of defiance. She was tired and she couldn't think. She would think tomorrow. Tonight, she would just go home and sleep.

That was her plan for now, not much of a plan she admitted to herself, but she had no ideas. She would come up with an idea tomorrow. Now she would just go home and sleep. When she found herself pulling up in front of Luke's diner, a questionable look appeared on her face. She hadn't meant to come here, or had she. She looked inside and saw Luke cleaning off a table and she shut off the engine of the jeep and went inside.

"Rory dropped out of Yale."

"What?"

"She dropped out of Yale and she moved in with my parents, who I went to for help and they stabbed me in the back. Everything we've worked for, all these years, her whole future." Lorelai shook her head. She was still having a hard time believing that any of this was really happening, but it felt good to tell Luke. To share it with him somehow lightened her burden. "She was supposed to have more than me, she was supposed to have everything. That was the plan, we had a plan."

Luke was staring at Lorelai. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. All her life Rory had wanted to go to Harvard, well now Yale, but it was the same thing. She had worked so hard. He had watched her and admired her and cheered for her. He had seen her blossom from an adorable young girl to a beautiful full-grown woman. He loved her as if she was his own child.

This could not happen. He would not allow it. He would not stand by and let her ruin her life. "Okay, I'm sorry. I have to jump in here. Uh, I know you think you have this thing handled, but I can help." Luke began to pace the floor as his mind worked desperately to find a way to prevent Rory from ruining her life. "First off, we call Yale and we tell them something like, uh, Rory had a chemical imbalance and she was mentally out of her mind when she told them she was dropping out. And then we get her out of your parent's house whatever way we can. We lock her up in her room with you, because you can talk anybody into anything."

Lorelai smiled at Luke's description of her abilities. He was always with her. Whatever her problems were he was always there for her and he listened and understood and tried to help in whatever way he could.

She thought back to the time that Rory had run away to her parents house when she was so upset about breaking up with Dean and how she had come into Luke's diner and told him about Rory and he almost had a heart attack until he found out she was okay and then how he had run down Dean with her and made her feel better and had reassured her that Rory would be home soon. She thought about how she had come to him when she was overwhelmed and running out of money to build the Dragonfly and he had held her while she cried and then he gave her the money she needed to finish the construction. She could think of a hundred examples of how he had helped her and shown her that he loved her.

He was an amazing man and she suddenly realized how much she loved him. Oh she knew that she loved him, she had known that since they had broken up and got back together after her parents wedding vow renewal, but what she hadn't realized was how long she had loved him. Up until now she thought it was her feelings for Christopher that had intruded on her love life and had sabotaged her previous relationships but it wasn't Christopher at all, it was Luke. She had loved him for a long time and she knew that she would not be able to live without him.

She sat back in her chair a little bit and a stunned look appeared on her face at the reality of this revelation. She smiled inwardly and a peace came over her. This was it, this was what she had been looking for and the funny thing was, it had been right in front of her all this time. She watched as Luke continued to plan to get Rory back in school and she knew that he loved Rory almost as much as she did. In a lot of ways he had been more of a father to her than Christopher had ever been. The love came into her eyes and as she continued to listen to him she knew what she wanted to do.

"And if worse comes to worst, we will drive her to school every day and we will follow her to class and camp out there to make sure she goes. I'll take morning classes, you take afternoon classes, or the other way around, if it works out better for your schedule. And I know there's a few kinks to work out, the kidnapping thing might be a little problematic but either way, she is not quitting school. This was her dream. I am not going to let this happen."

Luke stopped and took a deep breath. Lorelai had been quiet for a while and he was worried about her. He looked into her eyes, and he was surprised. He didn't see all the sadness that he had expected. Oh, the sadness was there but it seemed to be buried by something else at the minute. What was he seeing in her eyes? He couldn't quite put his finger on it. "What?"

Lorelai took a deep breath and marveled at what she was about to do. She was nervous, not because she was unsure of herself, she knew that this was what she wanted, but because she didn't know how Luke would react. "Luke, will you marry me?" Her voice wavered a little bit but she let out her breath and watched Luke carefully.

Luke's jaw dropped and he stopped in his tracks. His mind was playing tricks on him. She didn't just ask him to marry her. "What?"

Lorelai sat up straighter in her chair. The walls that she had built around herself were falling down and she knew that he could destroy her with one word but she also knew that she could destroy herself if she didn't take this chance. "I love you Luke Danes and I want to marry you."

Luke crossed the diner in one stride and pulled Lorelai out of her chair and into his arms. She looked into his eyes and the love that she saw was total and complete. His voice was a whisper in her ear. "I will marry you Lorelai Gilmore." His mouth was on hers before he finished his sentence and his tongue was at her lips and his whole body enveloped hers. She lost herself in him and he in turn lost himself in her. Their kiss lasted several minutes and a bomb could have gone off around them and neither of them would have noticed but suddenly he pulled back from her and disengaged himself.

"Wait here." He said and he turned and walked out of the diner.

Lorelai stood still, completely stunned for a minute and then she sat down heavily on her chair as if her legs wouldn't hold her anymore. He had said yes. She couldn't believe it. She was going to marry Luke. She had to tell Rory. Rory would be so happy. Rory. Lorelai put her head in her hands and cried.

A few minutes later Luke reentered the diner and ran to Lorelai when he saw her crying. He knelt down beside her and put his arms around her. "What is it? What's wrong?" He asked desperately but Lorelai just shook her head and burrowed deeper into his shoulder. He held her for a few minutes in silence but his imagination was getting the better of him. He thought she changed her mind, that she had come to her senses. After all why would a beautiful, wonderful, fantastic woman like Lorelai want him? He pulled away and looked into her eyes. "Lorelai please."

Lorelai hugged him tightly again. "Rory, I can't tell Rory." She said into his jacket and he wrapped her up in his arms.

"You can tell Rory." He said with a new determination. "You just have to be a little patient. Everything is going to be alright." He pulled back and looked into her eyes again. "You have to believe that. You and I will fix it. Together we will get through to her. We will get through to her because we won't give up until we do. I promise you it will be alright." And with that he pulled her close again and this time she was the one who started the kiss and eventually they turned out the lights and walked upstairs to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lorelai opened her eyes early the next morning. It took her a minute or two to become fully awake and remember the events of the previous day, but once she did and her gaze focused on Luke still fast asleep, sprawled out on the bed beside her, a smile appeared on her lips. She watched him sleeping so peacefully and laughed inwardly. This was often how they woke up. She was on the very edge of the bed with most of the covers tangled up around her and Luke was sprawled out over the remaining three quarters, with hardly any covers at all. She wondered how many times they would wake up like that in the future. She hoped it was every morning for the rest of her life.

She thought back to their love making the night before and closed her eyes for a minute. She was no stranger to sex, and sex with Luke had been fantastic right from the beginning. Then after they broke up and got back together and she knew that she loved him, she thought that nothing could top their love making, but last night was like nothing she had ever experienced before. Last night, she gave him her body, her mind and the every core of her soul and she had no words to describe how she felt when she was making love to Luke. They had truly become one entity and she knew that she was his for the rest of her life.

She lay quietly for a while thinking of how much she loved him and how she, with the lack of commitment skills that she had demonstrated all of her life, was so totally committed to Luke. She knew that she had only committed to one person in her life before Luke and that was Rory. Since the day Rory was born, she had come first and Lorelai was second.

Now with Luke, she knew that Lorelai came third and she was thrilled by it. She was also afraid of it and excited about it and worried about it and many other things but she knew she could not deny it, so she vowed not to run from it, like she had tried to run from Max, and she vowed that she would not try to sabotage it because she had done that before too, when she didn't feel worthy of the love she was receiving. She vowed to accept it and enjoy it and be happy. She deserved to be happy. She really did.

She knew that she had a lot of emotional baggage she would have to work through to do this, to really be happy, but as she lay there watching Luke sleep she was determined to do it. She knew that years of her parents telling her that she wasn't good enough and criticizing everything she did and every decision that she made had had a profound effect on her, but she had broken free once for Rory and she would do it again for Luke.

She knew she gave the appearance of being very sure of herself, but she worked very hard to give off that appearance when really she wasn't sure of herself at all. Underneath she wasn't sure of anything. She doubted herself all the time but she did her best to hide it. She knew that she could accomplish things if she put her mind to it. After all she had raised Rory all by herself, she had found them a place to live when she had to, she had worked her way up from a maid at the Independence Inn, she had gotten Rory into Chilton when she needed to and she would get Rory back and be happy with Luke and Rory if it was the last thing she did.

She thought about Rory and all that had happened to get them to where they were now. It all started with this internship that she had gotten from Mitchum Huntzberger. No she was wrong, it had all started when she had met Logan Huntzberger. She thought about what she knew about Logan. She had first met him at her parents wedding vow renewal, when she had walked in on the two of them. She shrugged her shoulders, she couldn't really fault him for that, he was a young man in the prime of his life, of course he was going to make out with a beautiful woman like Rory if he got the chance. Rory should have used better judgment though, it was, after all, her Grandparents and her family.

Anyway, he was suitably embarrassed and was very polite. She had seen him again when they went shopping and he was at a café with another girl, and although she didn't understand it, Rory did and said that they had agreed to see other people. She said that Logan had told her that he wasn't a commitment guy, but yet when pushed he agreed to a monogamous relationship with Rory.

And then Rory had gone to dinner with his family and they were awful to her and Mitchum Huntzberger had offered her the internship to smooth things over. She knew the internship was a bad thing and yet there was nothing she could do about it. She had met Logan again at her parents house when Logan had stolen her Mother's antique sewing box.

She had not been impressed with him that night and even less impressed with her parents. And then Mitchum had crushed Rory's spirit with his review. How dare he? He knew nothing about Rory. He probably had never even seen any of her articles. Her published articles. She had had many things published in the Yale paper and before that in the Chilton paper.

She was still in school, for God's sake, she was still learning. Sure she had had a little trouble when she first started at the Yale paper, but she had triumphed over that. She had learned to put more of herself into her writing. Mitchum Huntzburger had no idea how determined she was, or how hard she was willing to work, or how much she wanted to be a journalist. He had his own agenda and he didn't care who he hurt to get what he wanted. And what he wanted was a wife for his son who did not work or have any outside interests, just as his family had told Rory when she went to dinner.

And then they had stolen the yacht. Listening to Logan's friends in the police station, Logan got into a lot of trouble with the law and now he was involving Rory. She couldn't help thinking that this wasn't Rory. It wasn't the Rory she knew, but then maybe Rory was changing. Maybe she didn't know Rory like she thought she knew Rory. She shook her head. This was Rory she was talking about. She did know Rory, she knew Rory inside and out, and she knew that this wasn't Rory and it wouldn't make her happy.

Lorelai slowly and carefully untangled herself from the bed covers and got up quietly, so as not to wake Luke. She went to the bathroom and when she got back she got a piece of paper and a pen and sat down at the table. She was going to make a list of all the things she could do to help Rory and to get her back with Luke and herself.

The first thing she wrote down was 'Lorelai talk to Rory', then she sat back and contemplated how she was going to accomplish that. She wanted to really talk to her and find out what she was feeling and what the reasons were behind it. To get Rory to open up to her like that she would have to do something drastic, considering the way things were between them right now. She sat up suddenly when an idea came to her and she thought for a minute formulating the plan in her head and then she smiled and nodded. She crumpled up the paper in front of her and turned to get another one.

She had been concentrating so hard she hadn't heard Luke get out of bed and come up behind her, but when she turned in her chair, he took hold of her arms and pulled her up into a soft embrace. His lips came down on hers and instantly Lorelai's arms went around his neck and she pulled him as close to her as she could. Their kiss lasted several minutes and when they finally needed to come up for air, Lorelai hugged him and whispered "Good Morning," into his ear.

"Good Morning," Luke whispered back, nuzzling her ear, and holding her tight. They stayed in each other's arms for several minutes, comfortable with the arrangement and happy to be where they were, but finally Luke pulled back and looked into her eyes. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

Lorelai shrugged her shoulders. "I had some thinking to do."

"Are you okay?" He asked brushing a strand of hair off of her face.

"I am now." She said hugging him tight again. "I'll always be okay when I am in your arms."

"That's not what I meant." Luke hugged her tight again also. "But I like that answer."

"Yeah, I know, I'm okay." Lorelai said quietly and unconvincingly.

"We'll figure this out." Luke pulled back and looked into her eyes again. "We'll get her back."

"I know, it's just so hard." Lorelai broke eye contact and looked at the floor. "I just love her so much and it hurts, it hurts a lot."

Luke wrapped her up in his arms again. "I know it does. I love her too you know."

"I know you do." This time Lorelai pulled back and looked into Luke's eyes. "I don't think I could do this without you. You don't know how much I need you right now."

"Well you've got me and we are going to do this together." Luke pulled her over to the bed and sat down pulling Lorelai down beside him. He put his arm around her shoulders. "What are we going to do? Do you have any ideas?"

"I do." She smiled a little bit. "I just thought of it before you woke up." Lorelai proceeded to tell Luke her plan and eventually they moved over to the table and wrote some things down on a piece of paper.

After over an hour of planning and formulating their idea, Luke looked at Lorelai and smiled. "This brilliant, you are brilliant. I don't see how it could fail."

"It could." Lorelai didn't want to get her hopes up. She wasn't sure she could pull it off but she was going to give it everything she had. "Will you come with me?" She rushed on before Luke had a chance to answer. "I know it means going to some big cities and I know you don't like them but I …"

Luke put his finger up to her lips to stop her. "Of course I'll go with you. Just try and leave me here. There's no way I'm not going."

"Thank you." Lorelai got up and went and sat on his lap. "Thank you." She said again as her lips reached his and his hands came up and became entwined in her hair. "I should get going." She said with reluctance after a few minutes. "We have a lot to do."

"Yes, we do." Luke said, giving her a couple of quick kisses and they both stood up and began to get ready to go.

"I'll miss you." Lorelai said half an hour later, down in the diner. She had just kissed Luke goodbye and was on her way out the door.

Luke said came around the counter and caught up to her for a last peck on the lips. "I'll miss you too."

Okay that's chapter two, please send me a review. Chapter 3 will be done soon.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note:** Okay here is Chapter 3. Thanks for the few reviews I have gotten. I appreciate it a lot. I never realized how important reviews are to the writer. Good or bad, they are all important. A little constructive criticism or ideas would be very much appreciated also. So please R & R. I hope you enjoy the chapter._

Chapter 3

The first place Lorelai headed was to the Dragonfly. She found Sookie in the kitchen, as usual. It was nice to see that there were some things she could still count on. That in some places, life was proceeding as normal and not all upside down, as it was in her world right now. She took Sookie to her office and told her about Rory, but not about Luke. She and Luke had decided not to tell anyone they were getting married until they could tell Rory. Sookie immediately wanted to help with Rory.

"I was hoping you would ask that," Lorelai smiled at her friend. "because I was wondering if you could do without me for a week or so, while I get this fixed."

"Of course." Sookie immediately agreed, but then frowned. "But what are you going to do?"

"I have some ideas." Lorelai took her friends hand. "I'll tell you later, okay. I really need to get going. Is that okay?"

"Of course." Sookie squeezed her friend's hand. "Go, go and let me know if I can do anything else."

"Thank you and don't tell anyone about Rory okay."

"My lips are sealed."

"Okay Belinda." Lorelai gave her friend a quick hug. "Thanks again and just call my cell if you need anything." Lorelai waved on her way out the door.

The next place she headed was over to Lane's. She parked her jeep on the street and headed up the stairs, but when she knocked on the door there was no answer. She was walking down the stairs when Gil pulled up in his van. Lorelai had to look twice but sure enough sitting in the passenger seat was Mrs. Kim. They parked in the driveway and got out.

It took Lorelai a minute to get over her shock, but when she finally did she asked. "What's going on here?" She held her hands out in front of her gesturing to Gil and then to Mrs. Kim.

Mrs. Kim stopped in front of Lorelai. "Kim's are not quitters. I didn't raise Lane to be a quitter."

Between Gil and Mrs. Kim, who were both talking a mile a minute, Lorelai managed to find out about the tour in the church halls and auditoriums and that Lane was shopping with Brian and Zack and then she was going to talk to Luke.

Lorelai left them to their preparations and headed for Luke's. She caught up to Lane as she was walking across the town square in the direction of Luke's.

"Lane can I talk to you for a minute." She gestured to a bench a few feet away.

"Sure." Lane looked curious, but sat down with her.

They talked about the tour for a few minutes and Lane's mom. Lane looked so happy, and Lorelai was happy for her.

"You didn't sit me down here to talk about the tour, what's wrong?" Lane was getting nervous. She could see how upset Lorelai was and although she knew Lorelai was happy for her there was something really wrong.

"No I didn't, but I'm really glad things are working out for you."

"Thanks." Lane was anxious to hear what Lorelai had to say.

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Okay, here's the thing, I know you are busy with preparations and everything, but I was wondering if you could spend tomorrow with Rory, or part of tomorrow, what ever you can do."

"Why?" Lane creased her eyebrows in an effort to understand.

"Well, let's just say she is having a really hard time right now and I know she needs you. She needs an old friend who really knows her, inside and out and that's you, and someone from home, from Stars Hollow, is even better and that's you too." Lorelai put her hand on Lane's knee. "You are just what she needs right now."

"What's wrong? Why is she having a hard time?" Lane face showed how concerned she was about Rory.

"I don't think I should tell you. I think that is Rory's story to tell." Lorelai took another deep breath. "She may not want to talk to you. She may turn you away, but trust me Lane, she needs you and I hope you will be persistent."

"I will." Lane looked more confused than ever. "I don't understand any of this, or why she would turn me away, but I won't give up, if that's what she needs."

Lorelai hugged Lane tightly. "Thank you so much. This means a lot to me and it will to Rory too, I promise."

"I wish you could tell me what's wrong." Lane said returning Lorelai's hug. "I'm really worried now."

"I know, and there's nothing I want more than to tell you, but you need to hear Rory's story without my version going through your head." Lorelai looked into Lane's eyes. "The only thing I want to say is to listen to her, I mean really listen to where she's coming from. I didn't do that and I wish more than anything that I had. I was so shocked that I jumped before hearing her out and I shouldn't have."

Lorelai explained to Lane where Rory was and that it might be best if she just showed up at the pool house unannounced, so as not to give Rory a chance to tell her not to come. Hopefully Rory would confide in her very best friend in the whole world. Finally Lorelai asked if she would deliver something to Rory and Lane agreed immediately.

Lorelai left Lane feeling a bit better, knowing that Rory would have Lane to talk to. She knew that Rory would be feeling cut off from Stars Hollow. Rory knew that everyone loved her around here. She knew how much they wanted her to succeed, and Lorelai guessed that Rory was feeling that she had let everyone down. Having Lane to talk to would help a lot and Lane had agreed to stop by the house in the morning on her way to see Rory. Lorelai sighed. She had a lot to do between now and then.

Next Lorelai drove to Yale. Luckily she had found Paris packing up some of her things for the summer, and through Paris she had found Doyle, Rory's editor on the Yale Daily News. It took a while, but Doyle had been very cooperative and after some research at the paper, Doyle had picked what he thought were the five best articles Rory had written. Of course they were full of questions about what this was all for, but Lorelai had gotten Paris' cell number and had promised to call her. Lorelai actually thought that Paris might come in useful, if things turned out to be harder than she thought.

By the time she returned to Stars Hollow, it was almost dinner time and Lorelai went directly to Luke's. She walked in the door, smiled at Luke and headed straight up to his apartment above the diner. Luke served the plates of food he had in his hands and headed upstairs after her, climbing the steps two at a time.

As soon as he opened the door, Lorelai was in his arms. Her mouth collided with his a little rougher than usual, but the urgency was communicated and reciprocated. His tongue spanned her lips asking for permission and she granted his request immediately. When they finally came up for air, Lorelai hugged him tight. "I missed you." She said into his ear.

"It was a long day for me too." He smiled to himself, knowing just how much she had missed him. "I kept looking at the door, hoping I would see you walk in." He pulled her over to his Lazy boy and sat down pulling her down on his lap. "How was your day? Did everything work out okay?"

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I got the articles." She continued to tell him about Sookie and Lane and Paris and Doyle and when she was finished they kissed again and his hands began to wander. Her whole body tingled under his touch and as he began to remove her clothes all thoughts about the day left her and once again she became his, and only his

"The things you do to me." Luke kissed her as they lay in bed, cuddled together after their love making. "You are one amazing woman."

"Thank you." Lorelai smiled. "I think I am the luckiest woman ever." She backed up her words by running her fingers through his chest hair and kissing him again.

They lay quietly for a few more minutes touching each other gently and kissing small kisses here and there, and then their passions rose again and they made love one more time before going downstairs for dinner.

After dinner, Lorelai walked behind the counter, took Luke's hand and dragged him halfway up the stairs, out of sight of his customers and they kissed good bye. They weren't people who enjoyed public displays of affection, but now they were even more careful. They feared that if people saw the passion behind their kisses now, they would know that something was different. That they had decided to get married.

It took them a few kisses and more than a few minutes to tear themselves apart but eventually, they said goodbye and Lorelai headed home. She needed to be apart from Luke to do what she had to do. She needed to think about Rory and what better place to do it than at their house.

_Okay, thanks for reading this chapter. Chapter 4 will be up soon. Remember to review, review, review. It keeps me going._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews, they are GREAT! Okay, I know this chapter is really short, but I am putting Chapter 5 up at the same time. So please, please read and review. Thanks and I hope you enjoy it._

Chapter 4

Lorelai stopped the jeep in the driveway and got out. She stood for a minute and looked at their house. It really was their house. It belonged to her and Rory and it always would. She remembered the day they moved in. She had been so excited, but Rory didn't want any part of it. The Independence Inn had been the only home she had ever known and at 10 years old, she was really afraid to leave it.

When they first moved in Rory would follow her around, from room to room. She was used to the one room of the potting shed and didn't want to be left alone, so Lorelai made up a game where they would go to opposite ends of the house and stay there for 5 minutes, then run and see who could make it to the living room sofa first. Eventually she got used to the different rooms in the house, but it took longer to get her to sleep in her own room by herself. She slept with Lorelai for the first while and then Lorelai would stay with her in her room until she fell asleep, but even then if she woke up in the middle of the night, she would sneak upstairs and Lorelai would wake up in the morning and find Rory fast asleep beside her.

Lorelai entered the house with a smile on her face and all these memories circulating in her mind. She sat down on the couch, in silence and continued her trip down memory lane. Eventually she squatted down in front of her CD collection and began looking at the titles. She picked out 5 CDs and placed them in the player. Each one held special memories of a time in their lives. She turned on the stereo and went into the kitchen.

She got some writing paper and a pen and sat at the table. Most of the time she stared out into space but every once in a while she would write something on the paper in front of her and sometimes she would cross it out violently and sometimes she would even take the whole piece of paper and scrunch it up in a ball and throw it across the room. Periodically she would stand up and walk around the house and then sit down and begin all over. Once she walked into Rory's room, picked up Colonel Clucker and clutched him to her body tightly. She sat on Rory's bed and began to cry. Tears streamed steadily down her face and onto Colonel Clucker as she wondered why it was all so hard, why things had turned out the way they had. She longed for the relationship she had had with Rory while she was growing up, but she knew that that relationship was gone forever.

Rory was an adult now and Lorelai had to let her be an adult. It was the hardest thing she had ever had to do, to let Rory go out into the world and face all it had to offer. It truly was a cruel world and now look at what had happened, it had beaten her down. She sat there for a long time, crying and not crying, wondering and thinking and remembering and trying to put her thoughts into words she could write down on paper. It took her all night but finally as the sky was getting light she folded up one sheet of paper, slipped it into an envelope and sealed it.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

Lane arrived at Rory's grandparent's house early the next morning. She wanted to be sure she caught Rory before she went out anywhere. She had never been to the house in Hartford before and she couldn't believe how big it was. She parked Gil's van on the street and walked slowly up the driveway, with her mouth open, staring at the enormity of the place. She knew that Rory's grandparents were rich but when she had thought about where Rory went when she went to Friday night dinners, she had never imagined this.

She made her way around the house to the backyard and the pool house. It didn't look like anyone was home but when she knocked on the glass door, Rory came out with a towel around her head and her robe on. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Lane, then she sighed and came and opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" she asked immediately, not giving Lane a chance to speak first.

"Well, hello to you too." Lane replied, slightly taken aback.

"Sorry. Hello. I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just surprised to see you."

"I hope it's a good surprise." Lane smiled. "I've missed you." They were still standing at the door and Lane wondered if she was going to be asked inside or asked to leave. When Rory hesitated, Lane decided to force the issue and find out right then and there. "Can I come in or are we going to stand here for my entire visit?"

"Of course, come in." She stood aside to let Lane pass.

"So this is a pool house." Lane looked around a little bit. "I've never been in a pool house before." She walked behind the counter of the small kitchen area. "Jeez, this place is ten times nicer than my apartment."

Rory walked into the bedroom and closed the door. When she came out she was dressed in jeans and a sweater. She didn't even look at Lane sitting on the edge of the couch, but walked into the bathroom to fix her hair. When she only closed the door half way Lane stood up, walked over and leaned on the door frame of the bathroom.

"I'm sorry to just show up like this. I should have called."

Silence from inside the bathroom.

"I just wanted to see you so badly." She hesitated. "Your Mom told me you were here."

"What else did my Mom tell you?" Lane could hear the worry in Rory's voice.

"Nothing, she told me you were here and she gave me directions."

"Sure." Rory opened the door, glared at Lane, and walked into the living room.

"I asked her why you were here and not in Stars Hollow, but all she said was to ask you." Lane followed her, unsure of what she had done to deserve the look on Rory's face. "Look, I just have some news to tell you. Some news that I wanted to share with my best friend. So, I'll tell you and I'll go if you want me to."

Rory sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm just – it's just." Rory looked away, but turned back quickly. "What news?" She asked as she sat down on the couch.

Lane sat down beside her and told her about her mom and the band and how she had gone to her and told her that the band was splitting up and how her mom had helped her and arranged the upcoming tour of the churches and how hopeful she was that this would give the band the exposure that they needed. Rory seemed genuinely happy for her and Lane hoped that it took her mind off her troubles for a little while as they discussed the band and the tour and her mom and even Zack.

"That Mrs. Kim, she's something isn't she?" Rory said when they had finished their discussion. She seemed to have warmed up to Lane. She wasn't exactly her old self but she was definitely better.

"Yes she is." Lane agreed, smiling, but suddenly her smile faded. "Rory, tell me what's wrong." She reached out and took Rory's hand. "Tell me why you're living here."

Rory tried to pull her hand away from Lane, but Lane held on tight. "Rory, you can tell me." Lane spoke quietly. "You can tell me anything. You know that, right."

Rory turned her head away and Lane thought she heard her start to cry. "Rory, I love you, you know that too right."

With that Rory turned to Lane and hugged her tight. Lane held her and wondered what could have happened. She knew it involved a fight with her Mother, and judging by the sadness on Lorelai's face the other day and by Rory, crying in her arms right now, she knew that this fight was bad, really bad.

Eventually Rory calmed down enough to talk and she told Lane about the internship and Mitchum Huntzberger and the bad review and about stealing the yacht and going to jail and about quitting Yale and the fight with her Mother. What she didn't tell her, was about going to dinner at the Huntzberger's and about them telling her that they didn't want her in their family, because she was a career woman. She didn't mention the dinner, because in her mind the dinner and the bad review had nothing to do with each other. She didn't connect that possibly the review was Mitchum Huntzberger trying to manipulate her into the kind of woman that he wanted for his son.

Lane couldn't believe what she was hearing. She sat quietly, not saying anything, not sure if she could have said anything if she had wanted to. And just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, Rory would lay another whopper on her. It was just one thing after another, after another. Finally when Rory stopped talking, Lane looked at her expectantly. "Is that it?" She asked, trying to figure out what to say next.

"Yeah, that's it." Rory looked at Lane expectantly, wanting to know what Lane thought.

"Wow!" Was all Lane could say.

"Yeah, wow." Rory knew how much she had just shocked Lane. It still shocked her when she thought about it and she had been there for all of it.

"Rory." Lane took Rory's hands in hers. "I have a question for you and I want you to think about the answer carefully and only when you are sure of your answer, should you tell me."

A worried expression appeared on Rory's face, but eventually she nodded. "Okay, I will if I can."

Lane hesitated, trying to formulate the question in her mind. "Okay," she began tentatively. "Let's say for a minute that none of this happened. I want you to forget about Mitchum Huntzberger, forget about your Mom and Logan and me and everyone. Think only about yourself and how you feel." She paused for a minute to let this sink in and Rory nodded. "Now, thinking only about yourself and what you want out of life, I want you to tell me what you want to do. Think about what would make you happy, what you would enjoy."

Lane took a deep breath and started to list off the choices they had just talked about. "Do you want to go to work every day to a job that your grandparents arranged for you? There would be no pressure, but would there be any rewards? Or do you want to move home to Stars Hollow and live with your Mom and work at Andrew's book store? Again, there would be no pressure, and you like books, a lot. Or do you want to go back to Yale and finish your four years there and become a journalist? It would be hard work, and there might be failures, but there would definitely be rewards if you are still interested in it. Or if you aren't interested in journalism anymore, maybe you want to do something else entirely." She tried to keep her feelings out of her voice, but she wasn't sure that she accomplished it all together. "Remember." She finished her little speech. "Think only about yourself and try to imagine that all things are possible. What do you want to do?"

"That's not fair." Rory said immediately. "Not all….."

Lane put her finger to her lips. "Sshhh." She said, interrupting Rory. "Think."

They both sat quietly for a few minutes and then Rory turned to Lane. "This isn't fair." Rory repeated herself. "Not all of these are viable options."

"But let's say they were, what would you want to do?"

"I would want to be a journalist of course." Rory crossed her arms and sat back on the couch. "But you knew that before you asked the question."

"I just wanted to see if you knew that." Lane turned to face Rory. "And I'm glad that you do." Lane hesitated, not sure how to say what she wanted to say next. Finally, she just blurted it out. "You have to do it Rory. You have to finish Yale. If you don't you will spend the rest of your life looking back on this time and wondering if you could have done it, wondering if you could have had the life you always wanted, the life you have dreamed of since I have known you and you will never know."

"I can't do it." Rory's voice was loud and resolute.

"So what," Lane raised her voice to match Rory's "So what if you can't do it, you have to try. If you fail, then you fail. We all have things in our life that we have failed at. As the saying goes, failure is a part of life. If we don't try things, just because we think we will fail, then we will have wasted our lives. What would it be like to go through life, being afraid to try things because we might fail? If you at least try and give it everything you've got, then you'll know you tried and you won't have to wonder if maybe, just maybe you could have done it. Then you can move on to something else."

"I don't want to waste my life trying to do something that I'm not good at." Rory stood up and began to pace the room. She was yelling now and Lane yelled back at her and matched her stride for stride. She wasn't about to let Rory get away from her. This was too important.

"You will only waste your life if you give up on something before you've finished it. Then you've wasted your life up until now. You've wasted all the time at Chilton. What about all the things you had published in the Chilton newspaper. What about all the time you spent on the Franklin, was that wasted. I guess it was if you just quit now. And what about Yale and all the articles you have had published there. Would they publish your articles if they were no good? If you don't at least try this, you may not fail at it but in a way you will have failed at life. My Mom told me this recently and it's true if you think about it."

Rory had stopped pacing and was staring at Lane with tears rolling down her cheeks. When Lane noticed she stopped yelling and went and gave Rory a hug. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. "I just love you and I want you to be happy."

"I know." Rory hugged her back and after a minute added. "But I can't do it Lane. I can't."

"It doesn't matter if you can do it or not. It doesn't matter if you fail or succeed. The important thing is that you tried and everyone who really loves you will tell you that. Everyone who really loves you will not care if you fail, if you try as hard as you can, that's all that counts." Lane pulled back and looked into her eyes. "I'm telling you the truth Rory. I know that it seems daunting now but if you just take it one day at a time and do the best that you can do on that day, then you will have done all that you can." Lane sighed and hugged Rory again. She had said all that she needed to say.

"Thank you." Rory hugged her again and she knew that Lane really loved her. She knew that Lane only wanted what was best for her. She could feel it and the best thing of all was that she knew that Lane would love her no matter what she did. If she tried or didn't try, if she failed or succeeded, she knew that she would always have Lane.

"Just think about it." Lane let go of her friend and moved towards the door. "That's all I ask, is that you think about what I said." She pulled an envelope from her back pocket and handed it to Rory. "Your Mom asked me to give this to you."

Rory looked at the front of it and read.

"Rory,

Please, please read this and remember that I love you so much and I always will.

Love.

Mom.

Rory set it on the table by the door and turned back to Lane with tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks.

"Rory," Lane took her hands in her own. "When I saw your Mom yesterday, I knew something was terribly wrong with her. Her eyes were so sad and when she said your name, she said it like a part of her was missing. She loves you Rory, she loves you very much and I know you are mad at her, but she is human and maybe she made a mistake. She told me that she wished she had done things differently. Give her another chance. Read her letter." Lane hugged Rory once more and turned and left the pool house.

_I hope you have enjoyed it so far. Please, give me a review, it doesn't have to be long, although I would like ideas, suggestions, or a little constructive criticism too. I will try to get the next chapter up soon._


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to update, I have been really busy. I just finished a family reunion and all my relatives have left. Things are finally getting back to normal. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming. I love getting them, it makes my day much better. Anyway here is chapter 6. I hope you like it._

_**Disclaimer:** Sadly I don't own any of these characters, no matter how much I wish I did._

Chapter 6 

Rory watched Lane walk around to the front of the house and when she could no longer see her she turned her attention to the envelope on the table. She stared at it for a long time without moving, then abruptly she turned and walked away, leaving it untouched sitting on the table. She walked into the bedroom and closed the door, as if the door would cut her off from the envelope, she so didn't want to read, but also wanted to read more than anything else in the world. She missed her Mom so much, but she was so mad at her. When she needed her more than ever before, she had turned her away. She had told her that she was not welcome in her own house. The house that she loved and would always consider home. It hurt, it hurt a lot and she could still feel that hurt. She didn't understand why her Mom had done it and yet she did understand that she had hurt her Mom deeply too.

Rory sat on her bed and thought about all these things and eventually she found herself propelled back to the envelope on the table. She picked it up gingerly and carried it to the sofa and sat down. She read and reread the front of it. Smiling at the recognition of her Mom's handwriting and rubbing her thumb over the words gently as if they held a part of her Mother in them and somehow she was closer to her if she was touching the words. "Remember that I love you very much and always will."

"I love you too Mom." Rory said out loud and tears spilled from her eyes and ran down her cheeks. "And I always will too." She copied her Mother's words. "I always will." She repeated in a whisper and clutched the envelope to her chest and cried.

When she woke up a couple of hours later it took her a minute to remember the letter, but when she did she searched for it frantically, remembering that it had been in her hands when she cried herself to sleep. She found it between the cushions of the couch and she let out a sigh of relief and stood up and walked to the desk. She opened the top drawer and took out a letter opener and carefully sliced open the top of the envelope. Then she slowly walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed leaning up against the headboard. She looked in the envelope but didn't remove what was inside. She closed it and her eyes at the same time, as she held it in front of her with both hands. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, removed the paper from the envelope, set the envelope carefully away from her on the bed so she wouldn't crumple it and opened the paper.

Dear Rory,

This is the hardest letter I have ever had to write. It is so important and so much is riding on it, but that is not what makes it so hard. The hard part is trying to put down in words my feelings for you. I could tell you that I love you and I do but that is not nearly enough to describe how I feel about you. You are my heart and my soul. When you are not with me, I feel incomplete, I feel like a large part of me is missing. I want you with me always and forever and nothing, absolutely nothing could change that.

When you were just a few months old and we were still living with your grandparents, you were lying in your bassinette. You weren't sleeping but you weren't crying either. I was lying on my bed not far away, reading a book. You started to fuss a little bit and as I had just had a big fight with my Mom about her not running to you, every time you made a little noise, I let you fuss for a few minutes. It was hard to do. I wanted to run to you every time you made a noise also but I knew that that was not best for you. You had to learn that nap time was nap time and play time was play time. It was best for you if you stayed on a schedule and I was determined to teach you that.

However, this particular time, you weren't really crying, so after a while I got up and tried to sneak over to see what was wrong without you seeing me. Well, I wasn't very good at it and as soon as you saw me, you stopped fussing, a big smile appeared on your face and you reached your arms towards me. You had never done that before. Nothing was wrong with you, you just wanted me to pick you up and I felt my heart melt at that exact moment. I picked you up in my arms and held you tight, maybe a little too tight, because at that moment I knew that nothing would ever be the same again. I knew that I would do everything I could to give you the childhood that I never had. I knew that I would try my hardest to give you a life that would make you happy. I knew that no matter how hard it was, I would do whatever was best for you. Nothing else mattered except you and nothing has changed for me since that day. Nothing else matters to me except you. You come first in my life and you always will.

I have tried over the years, to always do what is best for you. I know that many times I have messed up, but I have tried. I know that I could have done better and I am sorry for that. All I have ever wanted was for you to be happy. All I want now is for you to be happy. I know I messed up big time with you this time and I am sorry. I should have listened to you. That is one thing that I have always tried to do, is to listen to you and try to understand where you are coming from. I never had that with my parents, so I realized how important it was. I tried to listen to you and I always tried to explain what I was feeling so that you would understand why I did what I did.

This time I was so surprised that I reacted with my emotions and not my head. I'm really sorry I did that and I would love it if you would give me another chance. I know I don't deserve it, and I know I hurt you a lot, but I love you so much I didn't want to see you make a mistake. See now I am sounding like my Mother and you probably know how that makes me feel, but in an odd way I understand why she does what she does.

The hardest part about raising you was trying to let go of you. To let you grow up and go out into the world and away from me, just about killed me. I fought with myself a lot, when I wanted to phone you all the time, when I wanted to just wrap you up in my arms and keep you safe, but I knew I couldn't do it. I had to let you go. I had to let you grow up and become the beautiful woman that you are now. That is the difference between me and my Mother. I knew that I had to let you go. No matter how hard it was I had to let you make your own decisions, I had to let you develop a life outside of my life. My Mother never let me go and she still wants to make my decisions for me.

Okay, I'm rambling now, but then what else is new. This wouldn't be a letter from me if I didn't ramble on a little bit. Look, I have to go out of town for a few days and I would love it if you would come home and stay in our house while I'm gone. No one knows anything here in Stars Hollow, except Luke, who is going away with me and Sookie, who I swore to secrecy, so you could come home and stay at our house for a few days and everything would be normal, except I wouldn't be here, which is probably what you would prefer right about now.

And I would love it if you were still at the house when I come home on Saturday afternoon. You wouldn't have to stay there with me if you didn't want to, (Although, I would love it if you moved home for good.) but I thought that we could talk. I promise I won't yell at you and I won't try to force you into anything you really don't want, but I need you. I need a hug from you. I need you to forgive me. I know I was an idiot and I promise to try to be better.

Remember you have my heart always!

Love Mom 

Rory looked at the letter for a long time without moving. Tears ran steadily down her face as they had since she read the first sentence. Eventually, after reading it three or four times, all the while wiping the tears out of her eyes so she could see the words, she set the letter down on top of the envelope, far away from her on the bed and turned her face into the pillow and really began to cry.

_A/N: Hope you liked it, but please give me a review no matter what. Chapter 7 shouldn't be very far away._


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Very, very sorry it took me sooo long to update. I wasn't sure where I was going with this story, so I had to write a few chapters to find out but all is well now, but I would still welcome any suggestions you might have. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews so far. I LOVE getting reviews. **_

_**Anyway here is chapter 7, I hope you enjoy it.**_

Chapter 7

"What if she's not there?" Lorelai stared straight ahead of her, looking out the window of the truck but not seeing any of the scenery that was passing by.

Luke turned and looked at her, not sure what to say. It was Saturday afternoon and they were on their way home to Stars Hollow. It had become painfully obvious over the past week how much Lorelai was counting on Rory being at the house when they returned. He had tried to talk to her about it. He had tried to get her to admit that Rory might not be there but she wasn't having any of it. This was the first time she had mentioned the possibility and he knew how scared she was.

"What if she didn't read my letter? What if she did read my letter and she doesn't care? What if…"

"Lorelai," Luke cut her off. "I don't want you to get yourself all worked up about this." He reached over and took her hand in his. "Why don't we just wait till we get home?"

Lorelai squeezed his hand, took it in both of hers and brought it to her lap. "But…" She continued to stare out the window.

"I know." He cut her off, not wanting her to get too upset. "Come here." He pulled her towards him gently and when she turned to look at him and he saw the tears slowly rolling down her cheeks his heart melted. "Come and sit close to me." He indicated the middle seat in the truck and she nodded and moved over.

She rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her. He wanted to protect her from everything that hurt her, but he couldn't do it and it killed him that she was hurting so much. He loved Rory like she was his daughter but he hated what she was doing to Lorelai. He just prayed that she was at the house when they arrived.

"You know that whatever we find when we get home, we will deal with." He tightened his hold on her a little bit before he continued. "If she is not there, it is not the end, we will get her back." He put more determination into his voice. "We will never give up, right." When she didn't answer him he repeated himself, a little louder. "RIGHT!"

"Right." Lorelai answered quietly, but snuggled closer to him trying to feel like everything would be okay.

They sat quietly for a while and Luke thought that Lorelai seemed to be relaxing a little bit, but the minute they pulled into Stars Hollow he felt her body go stiff beside him. In minutes she would know the answer to all the questions that kept repeating themselves over and over again in her head. Was Rory there? Did she read the letter? Did she forgive her? Did she still love her? Was she there? Was she there? Was she there? Oh god, please let her be there.

Lorelai sat up straight as they turned onto her street. Wanting so much to see Rory's car in the driveway and yet so afraid that it would not be there. Luke tightened his arm around her and she looked at him briefly and smiled, then immediately returned her attention to the street in front of them.

When they pulled up in front of her house she jumped out and ran to the house. She fumbled with her keys, but finally got the door open. She stepped into the foyer. "Rory." She called out, but got no answer. "Rory." She called again and ran to Rory's room. She stopped dead when she got to the door of the room. She looked around slowly, but shook her head, refusing to accept what she saw. She ran to the fridge and opened it slowly and looked inside. It was only then that her mind began to accept it. "Rory." She said quietly and sank to the floor in a heap.

Luke got out of the truck a lot slower. Rory's car was nowhere to be seen. He stood watching as Lorelai ran to the house in denial. Once she had disappeared inside, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and looked around. He noticed the mail box overflowing with mail from the past week and he slowly walked over and removed it and headed towards the house.

He found Lorelai in the middle of the kitchen floor sobbing uncontrollably. He put the mail on the table and sat down beside her. "It's okay." He said wrapping her up in his arms and holding her tight. "We're not giving up. We'll get her back, I promise." He noticed the open door of the refrigerator and all the food they had left for Rory, untouched. And from where he was sitting he could see the note that Lorelai had left on Rory's bed sitting exactly where she had left it. Luke took a deep breath and brought Lorelai onto his lap. He reached out and slammed the door of the fridge in frustration and then immediately brought his arm back and held Lorelai while she cried.

"Hey," he said after a while, removing her hair from her face and trying to get her attention. He would have sat there till the end of time if he thought that that was what she needed but his legs were cramping and he thought it might be a good idea if he could get her to the couch. "Let's go into the living room." Her only response was to snuggle closer to him.

He held her tighter and tried to think of a different tactic. If he could just get her to stand up, he could carry her the rest of the way. Finally when he couldn't think of anything else he decided to tell her how uncomfortable he was. "Lorelai," he said softly "can you stand up for just a minute." She held him tighter. "I promise not to let go of you, but I," he paused briefly feeling a little guilty for making her move. "My legs are hurting a little."

Lorelai looked up at him then and her eyes were so sad, he just wanted to make everything better. "Sorry." She started to get up but held on to him tightly, forcing them to get up together. Once they were standing he wrapped her up again and she burrowed into him. After a few minutes, when the blood had returned to his legs, he bent down and putting one arm under her legs and the other around her back, he picked her up and carried her. He bypassed the living room and carried her all the way upstairs and set her down on her bed. She turned her head into her pillow and began to cry softly.

Luke gently removed her shoes and then her jeans, then he covered her with a blanket and lay down next to her. She immediately turned to him and once again he held her, this time until she fell asleep.

_**A/N: Okay, so how was that? Not very long I know but the next chapter will be up in no time. Pleeasse review!. Thanks for reading.**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed. This chapter is short, but I am putting the next chapter up right away. Chapter 9 is rated R but if you would rather skip it, you won't miss anything. I made it that way on purpose so that you could skip it and still continue with the story. Anyway, enjoy chapter 8 and please review.**_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of this (tear), they all belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino (a brilliant writer), the WB and Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions, I think._

Chapter 8

Luke was the first to wake up the next morning. As he slowly became conscious he realized that Lorelai was still in his arms and he was surprised. They always fell asleep holding each other but sometime during the night they retreated to their own sides of the bed. He always wished that they could wake up in each others arms but they never did, until now. He looked down at Lorelai lying on his shoulder and noticed how peaceful she looked in her slumber. He remembered how tortured she had been the night before and how sad she would be again as soon as she woke up. He leaned down and gently kissed the top of her forehead, then he slowly disengaged himself from her, being careful not to wake her up.

He had a quick shower and went downstairs to put the coffee on and make her, her favorite breakfast, pancakes with chocolate chips and bacon, sausage and eggs. He made sure to check on her frequently, to make sure she was still sleeping and not having to face the day by herself.

He had everything ready. He had the meat cooked and the coffee was ready and he just had to throw the pancakes and the eggs on once she was awake. He checked again to make sure she was still asleep and he walked slowly down the stairs, trying to think of something he could do to make Rory realize that she and her mother needed each other. Ever since he had known them they were a duo. He had always marveled at the relationship that they shared. Their minds worked the same way. Their mannerisms were the same. They shared the same likes and dislikes and if you looked into their eyes, they even sparkled with the same mischievousness behind them. They needed each other in a way he had never seen two people need each other before and he was going to get them back together if it was the last thing he did.

He walked into the kitchen and absently picked up the mail he had left there the day before. He moved it to the side of the table so that he would have room to set his and Lorelai's plates down when they were ready to eat their breakfast. As he set the mail down on the corner, some of it slipped off the table and fell to the floor. "Damn it." He muttered under his breath, not really mad that it had fallen, but mad at the situation Rory had left them in. "Can't she see that we love her so much? Can't she see that we only want her to be happy?" He spoke a little too loud and admonished himself as he bent over to pick up the mail. He was so caught up in his anguish that he didn't notice an envelope poking out of the pile without a stamp on it. He just shoved it back into the middle and placed it on the table.

As he turned around to go check on Lorelai again, he was surprised to see her walk slowly down the stairs. She was still in just the t-shirt and her underwear from the night before. She didn't look like she had washed or anything, but just woken up and walked down the stairs. She didn't say anything she just walked into his arms and he held her tight as she put her arms around his waist and her head against his chest. He held her like that for a long time, sensing that she needed his strength, but eventually without moving he said quietly. "I have coffee ready." He felt her nod her head against his chest but she still didn't move. "And breakfast." He continued not wanting to be the one who moved first.

"Thanks." She said quietly and turned in his arms so that they could walk together to get the coffee. He poured her a large cup and they went and sat on the couch. She leaned against him and he held her, never wanting to let her go. They sat quietly, each lost in their own thoughts, until he couldn't take it anymore. "Lorelai." He put his hand under her chin and forced her gaze up to meet his. "We will get her back." His voice sounded as determined as he felt.

"How?" Lorelai asked as tears welled up in her eyes and overflowed onto her cheeks.

"I don't know." He answered truthfully. "But we will think of something." He wiped away the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs as he held her head in his hands. "We just have to get over the shock of this. A day or two at the most and we will think of something. We have to clear our heads. We have to regain our perspective." He knew he was rambling but he had to convince her. "We had a few other ideas." He remembered the day they had developed this plan in his apartment. "There's Paris, we could call her." And then another idea came to him, but he didn't tell Lorelai, he wasn't sure she would approve, but he did and he thought it just might work. "We will think of something and we will get her back. We just have to stay positive and move forward."

"Okay." She said, sounding a little stronger and she hugged him tightly, wondering what she ever did without him, and knowing that he was the only thing keeping her going.

"That's my girl." He said pulling her up and kissing her quickly before leading her into the kitchen. "And now it is time for breakfast." He sat her down at the table and went to the stove to put the pancakes and the eggs on. "More coffee." He said, filling her cup once he had everything cooking. "You do know that that stuff will rot your insides, don't you." He smiled a little bit as he turned around to see her reaction once he finished his sentence.

"I still have not seen the charts on that." She said, taking her queue from him and playing along.

"Ah, the charts, the charts." He smiled now, excited that she was at least making the effort. "I'm saving them for a special occasion."

"A special occasion eh." She stood up and walked towards him. "What kind of special occasion?" She was almost upon him. She had this glint in her eye and he knew something was going to happen to him but when she reached out and began to tickle him she still caught him off guard.

"No, no, no." He laughed, his secret out. He hadn't had time to steel himself not to laugh.

"I knew it." She squealed. "I knew you were ticklish." She avoided his hands desperately trying to capture her own and stop the torture. Eventually he grabbed her and wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her passionately. She smiled through their kiss until his tongue met hers and she forgot everything except the electricity pulsing through her body with his every movement.

_**A/N: Please review, and remember chapter 9 is rated R, skip it if you like, Chapter 10 should be up tomorrow. Thanks.**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Rating warning: This chapter is rated R, for sexual content.**_

_**A/N: Okay here's chapter 9, really a continuation of chapter 8, but I wanted anybody to be able to skip this one if they didn't want to read it. If you want to read it , skip the rest of this note, if you don't I will give you a brief description of what happens. Okay, here it goes, and remember I said brief, because not a lot happens in this chapter. Lorelai and Luke have rough sex in the kitchen on the kitchen table. Luke worries afterward that he may have hurt Lorelai but she is fine with it and is okay with the few bruises she may have. They joke about some ripped clothing and that's it**_

_Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anything, see last chapter_

Chapter 9

"I love you." Luke said when they were forced to come up for air and she responded by resuming the kiss and guiding his hands under her t-shirt to caress her breasts. He pushed her up against the wall forcefully, his hands aggressively exploring her body. His leg went between hers and she moaned into his mouth as he pressed her head back against the wall. He needed to be closer and she pushed back passionately, needing all of him as well. Her hands traveled under his shirt, up the small of his back and back down again. Then she removed his shirt and reached for his pants. He turned her around and with one hand cleared the table and lifted her up on it. Her t-shirt was ripped off, followed closely by her underwear. He kneaded her breasts with both hands and sucked at her nipples, making her unable to concentrate on removing his pants. Finally she undid his buckle and his pants and he removed his pants in one fluid motion. His eyes burned as he pushed her back on the table and came up over her and kissed her again as he entered her. He was absolutely still inside of her as he looked into her eyes and she was the one who couldn't wait any longer as she shifted gently underneath him and he was unable to hold back any longer. She locked her legs around him and they rocked, almost violently, together, their bodies shuddering wildly and the explosion that went off in both of their heads was deafening as they shattered into a thousand pieces.

Luke gently lifted her off the table and held her in his arms as they tried to regulate their breathing. He looked into her eyes, worried that he had hurt her with his roughness, but she saw his look and smiled at him. She knew she would have a few bruises, but she welcomed them and him and all that came with him. He kissed the sweat off her forehead and gently laid tiny kisses on her eyes and her nose and finally her mouth. "I love you." Lorelai said and they slowly made their way upstairs to have a shower. Breakfast was long ago forgotten and the stove was turned off, somewhere in the middle of their lovemaking, although Lorelai had no idea where.

"That was my favorite t-shirt." Lorelai teased him as they were getting dressed.

"Sorry." Luke looked at her sheepishly and she smiled. She loved it when he was shy and embarrassed towards her.

"And I really liked those underwear too." Luke shrugged his shoulders, knowing that she wanted him to play his part and he was totally willing. "Trash," She continued. "And now they are nothing but trash." He strode over to her quickly and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I'll make it up to you." He said when he pulled away

"I think you already did." She said with a devilish grin on her lips.

_**A/N: Please review, Chapter 10 will be up tomorrow.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: I know the last few chapters have been short, but this one is longer again. I have been getting a couple of questions about when you will find out where Lorelai and Luke went. I'm afraid you will have to wait a while longer for that but be patient, it is coming. Enjoy chapter 10 and review, I love getting reviews.**_

_Disclaimer: I still don't own anything._

Chapter 10

They left the house and headed for Luke's leaving the mess in the kitchen for later, they were both famished and couldn't wait another minute for food. Lorelai had to check in at the Inn, after being away for a week, so after breakfast she reluctantly said goodbye to Luke and got in her jeep.

"Hi Sookie." Lorelai said entering the kitchen and trying to sound normal. Sookie knew her so well and she didn't want to discuss everything with her right now. She wanted to pretend that this was just another day at work, a day like any other day, not another day without her daughter.

"Lorelai!" Sookie dropped what she was doing and hugged her friend. "It's good to have you back."

"Thanks Sook." Lorelai hugged her friend tightly, maybe a little too tightly, because Sookie pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"What's wrong?" She asked her friend, holding Lorelai's arms, and stopping her from turning away. "What happened? Did you fix it? Is Rory okay?" Sookie had a million questions but when she saw Lorelai's eyes well up with tears, she stopped asking questions and took her friend by the hand. She quickly led Lorelai into her office, away from the prying eyes of the kitchen staff and closed the door. "You didn't fix it did you?" Sookie said sadly and hugged her friend again.

"I tried, I really tried." Lorelai hung onto her best friend as the tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. "But I failed."

"Tell me what happened." Sookie pulled Lorelai down to sit beside her on the couch opposite Lorelai's desk and as much as she didn't want to talk about it when she first saw Sookie, suddenly she wanted to talk to her. Talking to Sookie always helped Lorelai and this time it was no different.

She told Sookie about Lane's visit and the letter she had written to Rory and the trip and how Rory wasn't at the house when they returned and how upset she was and how great Luke had been. She told her everything because Sookie was her best friend and it felt good and she knew she was lucky to have a friend like Sookie.

"And now the trip was for nothing. She doesn't want to see me. She doesn't even want to talk to me. What am I going to do?" Lorelai asked when she had finished her story. "I can't live without her, Sookie," She let out a big sigh. "I can't, I just can't."

"You won't have to." Sookie reassured her. She had sat quietly and let Lorelai tell her story but now she had something to tell. She held Lorelai's arms again and faced her squarely to make sure Lorelai was listening. "Rory loves you Lorelai, she loves you a lot."

"Sure, she loved me, I know that, but what if she feels differently now. I hurt her, Sookie, I hurt her badly."

"She hurt you too, Lorelai and you still love her." Sookie hated seeing Lorelai like this. "It was a fight, it doesn't mean you won't make up." Sookie couldn't hold it in anymore. "She phoned me Lorelai."

"What?"

"Rory, she phoned me while you were gone."

"She phoned you?" Lorelai couldn't believe it. "What did she want? What did she say? Sookie come on, this is no time to be like the first kid in Stars Hollow, the one without speech. Come on Sookie." Lorelai was almost vibrating, she was so excited.

"Okay, okay." Sookie smiled. "I'll tell you everything, just let me get it out."

"What did she want?"

"She said that you told her that I knew what had happened and she apologized to me." Sookie shook her head. "She said that she knew she had let me down and she was sorry. I didn't know what to say. I just told her that she hadn't let me down, that I just wanted her to be happy. I told her that we all wanted her to be happy and I thought that maybe she was crying a little bit after that." Sookie took a breath and noticed that Lorelai was crying again. "Jeez," She smiled, "I make all the Gilmore girls cry these days."

"Thanks Sookie." Lorelai hugged her friend. "You are a great person, and a great friend to both the Gilmore girls."

"Wait there's more." Sookie was still excited. "That's not why she phoned. What she really wanted was to make sure you were okay."

"What?" Lorelai's mouth dropped open a little and then she smiled. "She did?" She asked shyly.

"Yeah, she asked about you. She wanted to know if you were okay."

"What did you say?" Lorelai asked quietly.

"I said that you were upset and worried about her. I told her that you missed her terribly and that you loved her and that nothing should keep the two of you apart. I told her that you needed her."

"Thanks." Lorelai stared at the floor, thinking about how much she loved her daughter and just how much she needed her.

Sookie took Lorelai's hands. "And she told me that she missed you a lot too and that I should tell you that she love's you and then she hung up." Sookie hugged Lorelai and just let her cry.

"She loves me." Lorelai said through her tears and Sookie nodded.

Eventually Sookie went back to work and Lorelai went and sat behind her desk, still thinking about Rory's call to Sookie. "She still loves me." Lorelai said to herself and with renewed hope tried to think of something she could do. Something to get her daughter home, where she belonged.

By the end of the day, Lorelai was tired and frustrated. She had had Rory on her mind all day and she still didn't know what to do. She walked into the house and called out Luke's name. The house was quiet and she realized that he would still be at work. She sat on the couch and listened to the silence. She hated the house being this quiet. She remembered the first day she had come home after leaving Rory at Yale. The house had changed on that day. It was no longer the house that Rory and Lorelai lived in. It was just her house and she had hated it. She longed for the days when Rory would come running in after school, filled with excitement about something new that had happened. She wanted to wake up in the morning and meet Rory in the kitchen, where they would make coffee and pop tarts before they went to work and school. She wanted Rory to need her and tell her everything that happened in her life like she did when she was younger. She sighed. Rory was not a kid anymore. She was an adult and she had her own life.

Lorelai stood up slowly. She knew she had to let Rory have her own life. She knew she had to let her make her own decisions, even if they were bad decisions. She walked quietly into the kitchen. Nothing in her life had ever been as hard as it was to let Rory grow up. She stopped when she got to the door of the kitchen and saw the mess she and Luke had left it in that morning. She smiled, remembering the event that had caused the mess and absently rubbed her shoulder. It was sore and she knew she would have a bruise there from when her shoulder had hit the wall this morning.

She smiled and started cleaning up the mess. She picked up all the things that had hit the floor, the cutlery, the place mats, the mail, the paper. She threw the dishes in the dishwasher and washed the pots and pans from the uneaten breakfast. Once she had most everything in order, she sat at the table and drank a cup of coffee. She began to go through the mail, sorting out the bills, from the junk mail, when all of a sudden she gasped and held an envelope perfectly still in her hand as she read the front of it over and over again. All it said was 'Mom'.

Unlike Rory, who had to work up the courage to read her mother's letter, Lorelai opened it immediately and although she didn't use a letter opener, she was careful with the envelope, just as Rory was. Lorelai removed the letter but before she opened it she walked back into the living room and sat on the couch.

Dear Mom,

I read your letter yesterday and I have thought of nothing else since that time. I loved it and I love you. I will always love you and I knew most of what you said already, except the part about when I was a baby in the crib. I know that I come first in your life. You show me that every day and you have shown me that everyday of my life by your actions. I hated it when you said that you were sorry, that you could have done better raising me. You were perfect, the perfect mother. I was and am the luckiest person alive to have the wonderful Mother that I have. You are so beautiful and alive and funny and you taught me so much. You never tired of my never ending questions when I was a kid and you always answered them honestly. You never glossed over them when it was a difficult subject, like I saw my friends parents do. I noticed things like that because you were different. You always listened to me and I'm really sorry that you didn't have that growing up because it made me feel special and important and happy. It told me that you care what I think and that you like who I am. It gave me confidence and the ability to form my own opinions and believe in myself.

I have been sitting here now for about 2 hours, reading and rereading what I just wrote, especially the last line. You gave me confidence and the ability to form my own opinions and believe in myself. Believe in myself. I have always believed in myself, up till now. Anyway, I know now that you only got mad and turned me away because you thought it was best for me. I know now that it wasn't because you thought I failed or because you didn't like me anymore but at the time, it just hurt so much. I know that I hurt you a lot too. I'm sorry, I hope you can forgive me. I know that you wanted me to talk to you, and listen to you, but I shut you out and that hurt you. You are my best friend and I always want to share everything with you, but you are also my mother and I want so much to please you and make you proud of me that I don't always feel that I can talk to you about things that I am ashamed of in my life. Remember when I got a D on my first paper at Chilton and I didn't tell you. You found out when you went to the parent teacher night. Well this is kind of the same thing, only magnified many, many times. I was ashamed of the D, I didn't want to let you down and I am ashamed of quitting Yale. I know I have let you down this time. The difference is, that this time I am an adult and I have to figure this thing out by myself. I can't run home to Mommy every time something goes wrong.

Lane came to see me last week and she said a lot to me, but the one thing that keeps rolling around in my head is that it doesn't matter if I can do it or not I have to try. She said that everyone who really loves me won't care if I fail or not, if I really try and give it all I've got. I know that that is true with you. You have always taught me to reach out, grab onto life and hang on and I try to do that, but I'm not as good at it as you are. You have always done that, and look at you now. You have your own business, with Sookie and I am so proud of you.

So don't apologize to me, don't say that you don't deserve another chance, and don't ever, ever question my love for you. You are the best person in the world, you are my Mother, my best friend and like I said in my valedictorian speech at Chilton, you are the one person that I most want to be like. I love you

Now having said all that, I have to tell you that I can't come home right now. I need time to think, to decide what I want out of life, and to decide what I am going to do about it. Just know that I will come home soon and that I am not mad at you, this is what I need to do.

Love forever,

Rory

Lorelai, hugged the letter to her chest and closed her eyes. Well, she's definitely better at this letter writing thing than I am, she thought to herself. Of course she is, she's a journalist. Lorelai smiled and thought about her daughter, her beautiful, sweet, smart, talented, wonderful daughter, and for the first time in a while, thinking about how much she loved Rory didn't hurt quite so much. Mitchum Huntzberger had hurt Rory a lot and she had reacted impulsively by stealing the yacht with Logan and quitting Yale. Lorelai let out a big sigh. Like Mother, like daughter she guessed. She, herself, was known to act impulsively on occasion.

Lorelai read the letter again and again, analyzing every sentence, every word and thinking about her daughter and trying to figure out what Rory was thinking when she wrote it. Finally she brought the letter to her chest again and closed her eyes, happy that Rory seemed to be taking a step back and looking at what she wanted out of life. The only thing Lorelai wanted now was for her daughter to come home.

_**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it, but either way please review. Thanks.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, they really make my day. Enjoy chapter 11.**_

_Disclaimer: I still don't own anything._

Chapter 11

Luke came home that night after closing up the diner. He was a little later than usual, the diner had been really busy. He walked in the door and smiled to himself. He never knocked anymore and although he wasn't technically living there, he spent almost every night with Lorelai. Sometimes it was at his apartment if he had an early delivery but recently they had fallen into a pattern of staying here at the house.

He walked into the living room and was surprised to find Lorelai asleep on the couch. She was sleeping a lot lately, but he shrugged his shoulders and realized it was probably from the constant stress and worry about Rory. He kneeled down in front of her and watched her for a few minutes. He put his face close to hers so he could feel her breath on his cheek and gently entwined his fingers in the silky curls of her hair. God he loved her, he thought to himself. He couldn't imagine what his life would be like without her anymore.

He thought back to a few weeks ago when he believed that she might sell the Inn and take the consulting job that Mike Armstrong had offered her and immediately he could feel the pain in his heart as if it was yesterday. He knew that he couldn't live without her but he also knew that if she had really wanted to take it and it would have made her happy, he would have supported her. He smiled. There had been no more talk of Mike Armstrong, only about them getting married. He still couldn't believe that they were getting married. He couldn't believe that after all this time, they had finally gotten together in spite of themselves. Every time he held her in his arms he thanked his lucky stars for blessing him with this wonderful woman.

"Lorelai." He said quietly into her ear and he kissed her forehead.

"Hmmm." She smiled but didn't open her eyes.

"Lorelai." He tried again, only this time he kissed her ear and her eyes and her nose. "It's time to go up to bed." His lips grazed hers as he was talking and he planted an ever so gentle kiss on her mouth.

"Hi." She said softly, reaching for him and pulling him in for another kiss but not opening her eyes yet.

"Hi." He said back to her as he put his arms around her and pulled her slowly off the couch so that she was sitting in his lap and engulfed in his arms.

She was surprised, but pleased, at where she ended up and she opened her eyes and stared into his until she laid her head on his shoulder, feeling totally content and safe in his arms. She couldn't stare into his eyes for very long before she felt her eyes start to water. His eyes told her so much about him, but mostly she could see how much he loved her. She marveled at how he knew so much about her and yet he still wanted her. He knew all her faults and insecurities. She laughed quietly to herself, knowing that they were vast and many. And yet he still loved her. She knew that he would always be there for her, that she didn't have to hide her true self from him, and that whatever stupid thing she did, he wouldn't run and he wouldn't stop loving her. She loved him and she had never said that before to anyone but Rory.

"Hey." She reached for Rory's letter and smiled up at him. "This was in the mail."

He took it from her wondering what could make her face light up the way it just had. He glanced at the heading, then skipped to the bottom of the page. "This is for you." He said smiling, but turning his face away. "She wrote this to you, I shouldn't read it."

"No. I want you to." Lorelai said refusing to take the letter back from him when he offered it.

"But, Rory wrote this to you, it's private." He didn't think Rory would want him to read it.

"She won't mind." Lorelai looked into his eyes, she wanted him to know that she believed that Rory really would not care if he read it. "She says she loves me." Lorelai added quietly and Luke hugged her tight and read the letter over her shoulder.

When he finally pulled back and looked into Lorelai's eyes again, there were tears rolling down his cheeks and he kissed her gently, nibbling her lips with his own. "This is the mother daughter combo that I love." He said quietly into her ear.

Together they got up and walked up to their bedroom without ever letting go of each other. When they got to their bedroom, Lorelai disengaged herself and began to change into Luke's flannel shirt. She never wore anything else to bed anymore. All her sexy lingerie, lay unused in her drawer, because she never felt sexier or more loved, or safer, than when she was surrounded by Luke and Luke's flannel shirt was a part of Luke. She was removing her pants, when she realized that Luke was sitting on the edge of the bed staring at her. She stopped what she was doing and came over to him and hugged him to her breasts. He put his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly, so tightly that she became alarmed. After a few minutes she removed herself from his grasp and sat down beside him, taking his hand in both of hers.

"Luke?" It was definitely a question and he knew it, but he shook his head and gripped her hands firmly. "What's wrong?" She prodded gently as she brought one hand up to his chin and turned his head to face her . When she saw the tears on his cheeks she gently kissed them and removed them from his face. "Oh Luke." Her eyes began to water and a tear escaped and ran down her face. When Luke saw her tear he hugged her tightly again and pulled her down on the bed with him. "Talk to me Luke." She continued to hug him, but oddly, there was nothing sexual in their embrace, only warmth and understanding and love.

"I was just thinking too much." He said quietly into her ear as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"About what?" She brought her body closer to him as they snuggled and he pulled her higher on the bed so that their feet didn't dangle over the end.

"Downstairs." He sighed. He wanted to tell her everything now, never hold anything back from her again, but he was not sure how to convey what he was thinking. "Before I woke you up."

She stayed quiet, knowing that he would tell her when he found a way.

"I was looking at you, you know, watching you sleep and …" He stopped, getting caught up in his words "And I was thinking about you… and me." He added "I just.." He stopped again, but continued after a deep breath. "I just couldn't survive without you. You are everything to me and I was thinking about if I ever lost you and then." Now that the words were flowing, he couldn't stop. "And then the letter from Rory and you. My family, you and Rory." He was crying again and Lorelai hugged him as tight as she could feeling her heart explode with love and realizing that she actually hurt from all the love that she was receiving. "Forever, forever and ever." He finished.

She could feel the wet from his tears on her neck and then she realized that she was crying as well and she pulled back from him and took his face in her hands and stared into his eyes, not running from the love she saw there like she had earlier in the living room, but drinking it in and she kissed him tenderly, as their tears mixed together and repeated his words to him. "Forever, forever and ever." They held each other quietly then until they fell asleep in each others arms.

"Luke." Lorelai shook Luke to wake him up. "The phone, Luke, get the phone."

Luke reached across her and picked up the phone on the nightstand on her side of the bed. "What?" He asked grumpily into the receiver. He had been having a good sleep and he was dreaming about Lorelai. "Yeah." Luke shook Lorelai. "It's for you." He said a little wider awake.

"Who is it? Tell them I'll call them back in the morning." She opened one eye and squinted at the clock on the night stand.

"Just take it." Luke shook her again. "I don't know who it is."

She sighed and opened both eyes, finally able to see the time. 3:38 AM. She rolled over and took the phone. "What?" She said, sounding amazingly like Luke.

"Lorelai Gilmore?" A strange voice asked into her ear.

"Yes." She said, becoming some what alarmed and waking up completely.

"My name is Brian Larsen, I'm with the Hartford Police Department."

"What's wrong?" Lorelai bolted to a sitting position, and grabbed Luke's arm as tight as she could. She could feel a wave of fear and panic wash over her as surely as if someone had just covered her in a thick blanket.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you Ms. Gilmore, but there's been an accident."

Luke felt the pain in his arm from the death like grip of Lorelai's hand and sat up in a panic of his own.

And then Lorelai heard the words that she had feared for all of Rory's life. "Your daughter Lorelai Gilmore is at St. Francis Hospital."

"How is she? What happened?" Lorelai had a million questions, but she was trying to stay calm. And loosing the battle rapidly. "Is she…" She couldn't finish the sentence and she handed the phone to Luke. She heard Luke talking into the phone, asking questions, she guessed, although for the life of her she couldn't make out what he was saying.

Luke hung up the phone and jumped out of bed, he began racing around the room getting dressed. "Lorelai, come on." He prodded when she continued to sit still on the bed. "We have to get going." Then he turned to look at her and saw the tears and her blank stare, as if she was looking but not seeing anything. He stopped what he was doing and sat down beside her. "Lorelai." He said softly, putting his arm around her. "We have to go."

"What?" She turned and looked at him, but again it was like she was looking right through him. She pointed to the phone and he understood what she was asking.

"I don't know anything. He couldn't tell me anything over the phone. All I know is that she is in the trauma center at St. Francis Hospital. We'll find out everything when we get there."

She nodded and he gently lifted her off the bed and handed her some clothes. She seemed to come back to him just a little bit then as she got dressed and walked out to the truck. He grabbed her purse and keys and locked the door, then he helped her in the truck and tears rolled down both their faces as they made their way to the hospital. Not a word was said by either one of them all the way to the hospital, each of them lost in their own grief, but their hands became tightly linked and they knew that they had each other to help them get through this.

**_A/N: Please R & R. Very Important! Thanks._**


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed. They definitely make my day a little brighter. Hope you enjoy Chapter 12**_

Chapter 12

Lorelai new that they had arrived at the hospital. She knew that Luke was parking the truck in the emergency parking in front of the trauma center. She knew that she should be getting out, but she couldn't force her body to move. It was all too much. She could feel the pain in her chest and she was having trouble just breathing. Suddenly something that she had taken for granted all of her life was requiring her full attention. If she didn't concentrate on it, she knew she would just stop.

Luke got out and came around and opened her door. "Lorelai." He said softly and she turned her head to look at him.

Breathe in, breathe out. "Luke I'm…"

"I know." He said, cutting her off and reaching around her to undo her seat belt. He gently lifted her out of the truck and set her down on her feet, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

She held on to him as if she would never let him go, but eventually he pulled back and looked into her eyes. "We need to go inside." He said quietly and she nodded and loosened her grip. He took her hand and led her into the hospital.

They walked up to the main desk, where Luke got the attention of one of the nurses. "We're here to see Lorelai Gilmore." He stated, using Rory's full name. "We got a call from the Hartford police…" His voice trailed off as he saw the nurse consulting her charts.

"Are you family?" The nurse asked after she had found what she was looking for on her charts.

"This is her mother." Luke said, pulling Lorelai closer and putting his arm around her.

The nurse nodded. "The doctors are with Lorelai now."

"Rory." Lorelai said softly, interrupting the nurse.

"What?"

"Her name is Rory." Lorelai told the nurse.

"Sorry." The nurse seemed sympathetic. "The doctors are with Rory now and they will come see you as soon as they are done."

"What's wrong with her?" Luke asked, unable to wait any longer. "What happened?"

"I don't know." The nurse said truthfully. "You might want to talk to that officer over there." She pointed behind Luke and Lorelai and they turned immediately and saw a young man in a police uniform.

"Thank you." Luke said and followed Lorelai, who was already heading in his direction.

"My name is Lorelai Gilmore. Are you the officer who called me about my daughter?" Lorelai asked the officer.

"Yes ma'am." The officer turned to the sound of her voice.

"How is she?" It wasn't what she had meant to ask, it had just slipped out.

"I don't know ma'am." The officer looked sad.

"What happened?" There that was what she had meant to ask in the first place.

"You are not going to believe this." He said shaking his head.

"Was it a car accident?" God, would he just tell her what happened.

"No, Ma'am."

"What happened to my daughter?" Lorelai's voice was louder than she intended and she felt Luke's arm around her again and she leaned against him.

"I'm sorry." The officer rushed on before Lorelai could yell at him again. "She was in a maze."

"She was what?"

"She was in a giant, life sized maze, and one of the pillars fell on her."

"A maze?" Lorelai still didn't understand.

"Yes, ma'am, there was this huge maze covering a whole field and it was big, it was at least 10 feet tall and one of the pillars fell on your daughter."

"Why?" Lorelai asked.

"Why did it fall?" The officer asked, not sure of the question

Why did it fall? Why was she hurt? Why was she in the damn maze to begin with? Or why was there even a stupid maze? There were so many questions that Lorelai wanted answers to. She wanted to scream at him, she wanted to wake up and realize that none of this was really happening, but she just nodded her head and listened to the officer speak.

"We're not sure ma'am."

"How badly was she hurt?"

"The pillar was heavy. We had to use a crane to get it off of her."

Lorelai felt her knees buckling, but Luke grabbed her waist and held her up.

"But she was awake." The officer stammered, seeing the pain fill Lorelai's eyes. "She was in a lot of pain, but she kept asking for you. The paramedics ..."

Lorelai turned and headed back to the nurse's station, leaving the officer in mid sentence. "I have to see my daughter." She said as she walked up and the same nurse who had talked to them earlier shook her head. "I have to see her now." This time Lorelai was not going to take no for an answer and as the nurse looked into her eyes, she nodded.

"Let me go see if it's okay." She said and disappeared through the doors that said 'Authorized Personnel Only'.

Lorelai stood completely still, waiting for the nurse to come back, but when Luke walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, she immediately turned around. She needed his arms around her. She needed his quiet strength to draw on and as always, he was there. Breathe in, breathe out, she reminded herself.

The nurse returned in what seemed like a very long time but in reality was only a few minutes. A doctor was behind her and after the nurse pointed them out, he walked towards them.

"I'm Dr. Stanfield." He held out his hand to Lorelai. "I was just working on your daughter."

"Lorelai Gilmore." Lorelai shook his hand and pointed to Luke. "Luke Danes." Luke reached out and shook his hand as well.

The doctor motioned them over to the side of the waiting room, away from the rest of the people. "Your daughter is not in good shape." He said cautiously. "Her legs and feet have been severely damaged."

"What is severely damaged?" Lorelai didn't want him to mince words. She wanted to know it all.

"Her left leg has three breaks, and her left foot has two, but we have taken some x-rays and it doesn't look like any permanent damage. We will have to place some pins and reset it but if all goes well it should heal in time." He took a breath and Lorelai knew that the worst was yet to come. She took Luke's hand and placed it around her waist and held on tightly.

"And her right leg?" Lorelai prodded, having to know, yet dreading it with every fiber of her being.

"Her right leg is a different story." The doctor motioned for them to follow him. "Let me show you." He led them into a small room and turned down the lights. Then he switched on an x-ray screen and searched through some film and nodding he clipped an x-ray to the front of it. "This is her left leg." He pointed out the breaks and explained how they would fix them. Lorelai and Luke didn't say anything they just nodded in the appropriate places. Lorelai felt the tears run down her cheeks as she looked at Rory's broken leg, but she was listening and taking in as much as she could. She was trying to concentrate on the doctor's words and not on the Rory's leg.

"Now, her right leg." The doctor removed the x-ray of her left leg and replaced it with her right. When Lorelai saw the x-ray of her right leg, she gasped. It looked like her foot was facing the wrong direction. "The good news is that the main artery to her leg has not been severed and that gives us a fighting chance. The bad news is that we are going to have to rebuild her leg."

"What does that mean?" Luke asked, holding tightly to Lorelai, feeling her weight in his hands as she stared at the screen.

"It means that we are going to use everything we have to literally rebuild it. It means steel rods and bolts and plastic braces and casts and plates and screws. It means a few operations at different intervals, but I think we can save it and hopefully we will make it as good as before."

"What else?" Lorelai asked quietly.

"What else? Dr. Stanfield was unsure of the question.

"What else is wrong with her?" Lorelai wanted to know everything.

The doctor nodded, understanding where she was going. "Other than a few bumps and bruises, nothing."

"Can I see her?"

"We need to do the first surgery right away. We need to set her left leg and begin the process on her right leg and" He added. "To do that we need you to fill out some forms."

"I'll fill out the forms, if you take her to Rory." Luke knew that Lorelai needed to see Rory. She needed to be there for her and he knew that Rory needed her mother.

"Deal."

Lorelai hugged Luke tightly, knowing that she would need all of her strength to face Rory. "Thank you." She said quietly into his ear.

"She'll be okay." He reassured her and she nodded. It was all she could do to let go of him and follow the doctor down the hall.

_**A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon.**_


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